Presently, no solutions have been found to these problems, and they just have to be accepted and 'worked around' or tolerated.
The information is presented in two tables. The first is problems that Microsoft have not officially acknowledged. Most of these have been found by third parties including myself. If any knowledgebase articles are relevant, in explaining the circumstances under which the bug surfaces, a reference is included as a 'clickable' link in the 'Explanations' or 'Solutions' column.
The second table presents bugs that are officially recognised by Microsoft, along with a 'clickable' link to the knowledgebase article that introduces the circumstances and mitigating factors that have been found. Most of these knowledgebase articles conclude with the comment: "We are researching this problem", which roughly translates to:
Colour coding is used to signify the level of danger the bug represents as follows:
| Pink | SERIOUS - Data loss or system malfunction is probable. |
| Light Blue | Minor - Annoying or inconvenient, but no risk to data or system. |
| Light Green | Fixable - by changing user action or setting. |
| Buff | Trivial - Of no consequence, may not be noticed by many users. |
| Module | Explanation | Solution / Comments | Reported By |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cmd.exe | Command History Vulnerability. Pressing F7 repeatedly (to access command history) during the execution of a command (eg: Dir or Ping) will cause a Kernel STOP (0xC000021A - Fatal System Error) when the command console window is closed. | None Known | |
| S.P.T.I. (S.C.S.I. Pass Through Interface) | S.C.S.I. Pass Through Interface Generates STOP Errors. Attempting to access drive hardware through S.P.T.I. may result in a Kernel STOP (0x0A - IRQ_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL) Error. (usually a failure in hal.dll) | Use A.S.P.I. (Advanced S.C.S.I. Programming Interface) instead. See Windows NT 4.0 and Optical Media for further details. The symptoms of this failure are similar to those described in Knowledgebase Article 174232 but are unrelated. | Calvin Melen |
| Scsiport.sys | PCI/PCIe Bus Enumeration Bug. A serious bug in Scsiport.sys can result in incorrect or incomplete detection of storage controllers on some hardware. | See Scsiport.sys PCI/PCIe Bus Enumeration Bug in Windows NT at Bear Windows for further details. | Bear Windows |
| Eventvwr.exe | Duplicate Events Displayed. When you first open Event Viewer, the most recent events in the System log may be displayed twice with the same content. | If you select another log (eg: Security or Application) then return to the System log, the number and content of the entries is then correct. | |
| Explorer.exe | Inaccessible Floppy Drive if Format Cancelled. If formatting of a floppy disk is initiated then cancelled prior to completion, the floppy disk drive may become inaccessable with an 'access denied' error. | None Known. (A System Reboot restores normal behaviour) | Calvin Melen |
| Explorer.exe | Removable Media Volume Labels Not Displayed. Running Explorer as two separate processes as described in Knowledgebase Article 156366 results in Explorer failing to display the volume labels of removable media (eg: CD-ROM) in the 'My Computer' window. | Run Explorer as a Single Process (OS Default) | |
| Explorer.exe | User Profile Incorrectly / Incompletely Loaded. Elements of the 'default' user profile may appear instead of the logged on user. Symptoms may include failure to display user selected wallpaper (the default winnt256.bmp being displayed instead) and / or an incorrect sound scheme. | This appears to be a timing related issue - allow the system to 'settle' before logging on. (This usually takes around 20 seconds after the logon prompt is presented.) An exact sequence to cause this intermittent failure has yet to be determined. If the profile appears to be incorrect at system startup, log off and log back on, then the user profile will be correctly loaded. | Calvin Melen |
| Explorer.exe | 'My Computer' Window Preferences. 'My Computer' window fails to 'remember' user preferences such as Sort order, Display options and Window sizes. | Change only 1 preference at a time, then close the explorer window immediately. (Does not always work) | |
| Explorer.exe | 'My Computer' Window Icon. The small icon displayed in the top left of the 'My Computer' window title bar intermittently changes to a 'wrong' icon. (randomly grabbed from some other executable file) The behaviour of Explorer described in Knowledgebase Article 235630 may also be relevant. | Resets to normal on system reboot. (It is believed this effect occurs because of corruption of the ShellIconCache file) (Knowledgebase Articles 132668 and 133733 also provide further relevant information) | |
| Explorer.exe | Desktop Shortcut Icons Randomly 'Refresh'. Shortcut Icons are erased and then 'redrawn' on some occasions during normal operation of the OS. In addition, if you have files selected in an Explorer Window when this 'redraw' occurs, the selection will be cancelled. In some instances (with just the right timing) if you open your 'Send To' menu just as the 'redraw' occurs, the 'Send To' menu may be blank. | None Known. Microsoft blame this effect on Matrox video drivers in Knowledgebase Article 254790, but this effect has been observed on other brands of video hardware, so their explanation is not credible. | |
| Explorer.exe | Copy / Move Time Estimates in Error. When you copy or move a file, or series of files, to a 'slow' device (eg: removable media drive) the time estimates presented on the 'Copying' or 'Moving' dialogue may be in error, or may not be displayed at all. Additionally, the progress bar may not be displayed in some instances. | None Known. |
| 101635 | Explorer and File Manager Cannot Enumerate Path Longer Than 260 Characters |
| 104074 | Err Msg: Incorrect Function... When Accessing a CD-ROM |
| 110255 | Performance Drops During Large File Copy |
| 119743 | Error Attempting to Delete Groups With Member Groups Present |
| 120363 | Slow Performance on NTFS with Long Filenames |
| 120829 | XCOPY May Generate Incorrect Error Level |
| 120942 | Command Line Does Not Update Print Manager |
| 125933 | STOP 0x0000007B: Inaccessible Boot Device After Removing CD-ROM |
| 126310 | Error Attempting to Paste Into Clipbook Viewer |
| 126464 | Repair Disk Utility Does Not Update SAM and Security Hives |
| 127027 | Windows NT Printing Err Msg: The Requested Resource is in Use |
| 130680 | Service, Protocol and Adapter Lists Can Appear Blank in NCPA |
| 130794 | Emergency Repair Process May Fail "Beyond Repair" |
| 130828 | Program Manager Window Moves Upward on Screen |
| 130973 | Windows Media Player Does Not Support Tab Control |
| 131470 | PRINT.EXE Command Fails on Eleventh Try From Batch File |
| 131717 | Network Address Requires Trailing Zeros in NETWORKS File |
| 132660 | Invalid Characters Allowed When Creating File Association |
| 134854 | Windows NT LPR Does Not Support Job Removal |
| 134992 | MODE Command: "Printer Output is Not Being Rerouted" |
| 135593 | Bottom Portion of CD Player is Inaccessible |
| 135604 | DIR /O:N /S Does Not Sort Directory Names in Alphanumeric Order |
| 137474 | Cannot Create Partition Greater than 1GB During NT Setup |
| 137513 | User Manager Cannot Rename a Group |
| 139104 | FTP Session Lost Shelling Out Using "!" and CTRL+C Commands |
| 139453 | NET TIME Does Not Report Correct Remote Time in Windows NT |
| 140551 | NetDDE Requires Username/Password When Connecting to WinNT |
| 141018 | Rearranging Icons While Renaming File Renames Wrong File |
| 141187 | User Must and Cannot Change Password |
| 141190 | Disk Administrator Stops When Zip Drive is Present (Applies all Removable Media Drives) |
| 141588 | Services Not Closed Properly During Forced Shutdown |
| 141831 | System Locks Up When Accessing Floppy Drive |
| 142049 | File Manager Displays Incorrect Users With File Open |
| 142059 | Err Msg: "Could Not Set Printer" if Port Name Includes Comma |
| 145600 | Creating Mirror Fails With Insufficient Disk Space |
| 146332 | Display Driver May Not Reset Refresh Rate During Setup |
| 147224 | Shared Icon Does Not Appear in Windows NT Explorer After Sharing a Folder with a Long Filename |
| 147859 | ErrMsg: NET PRINT May Cause Internal Error |
| 148425 | Duplexed Mirror Generation Fails With Insufficient Space |
| 149131 | Windows NT FTP Client Creates 0-Byte File |
| 149305 | PCMCIA Network Cards May Fail to Start During NT Installation |
| 149741 | Using Upper Case Letters in Find Tab in Help Does Not Work |
| 149876 | Print Preview Command in WordPad Truncates Words |
| 150520 | WINS Server Sporadically Loses Name Resolution |
| 151388 | Setup Prompts for CD-ROM When Installing to Removable Drive |
| 152721 | Low on Registry Quota Error Gives Wrong Steps for Resolution |
| 154027 | Print Manager Hangs if Printer Description Has Multiple Commas |
| 154029 | Adding Microphone, Volume Control, Option Button Properties |
| 154538 | WinNT 4.0 Upgrade CD Will Not Upgrade WinNT 4.0 Installation |
| 154639 | Printer Icon Not Updated After Changing Port Type |
| 154733 | Error Accessing Boot Sector File \\BOOTSS |
| 154777 | Document Not Printed and No Error Message Received |
| 155157 | Error Changing Password at Logon With Dial-Up Networking |
| 155180 | Granting RAS Dialin Permissions to a Group of Users |
| 155395 | Multiple Instances of Control Panel Tool Started |
| 155396 | FreeCell Help Opens Extra Windows |
| 155558 | Deleting Clipbook Page Causes Overwrite of Clipboard Contents |
| 155572 | REM Does Not Prevent Parsing of FOR Statement in Batch File |
| 155580 | Second PC-Card Hard Disk on Fourth IDE Channel Not Configured |
| 155736 | CD Player Seems to Hang With Multiple-CD Changer |
| 155926 | Media Player Does Not Recognise Multiple CD-ROM Drives |
| 155941 | Phonebook Entry is Not Updated After Changing Modem |
| 156065 | Shortcut Key Launches Multiple Instances of Program |
| 156214 | Unclear Error Message Printing From Windows NT Diagnostics |
| 156258 | Command Prompt Does Not Recognise End-of-File Character |
| 156601 | Computer Pauses at Blue Startup Screen for 30 to 45 Seconds |
| 156677 | Logoff Screen Saver Does Not Function in Windows NT |
| 156802 | Windows NT Mode Command Does Not Have Retry Parameter |
| 157173 | Ntbackup.exe Generates Error Using 4-Character Description |
| 157301 | Shutdown of 16-bit Named Pipe Client Causes GPF in Netapi.dll |
| 157330 | Windows NT 4.0 PostScript Driver Prints Only Last Page |
| 157485 | Taskbar Leaves Trail on Programs with Auto Hide Enabled |
| 157742 | WOW Applications Calling KillTimer() API May Leak Memory |
| 157895 | No Context Menu for Clock.exe on Taskbar |
| 158155 | SAS Window: Winlogon.exe Error |
| 158458 | Frequent Browsing Causes Explorer Settings to Revert |
| 158824 | Using Quotation Marks With Set Path= Statement Fails |
| 158950 | Auto Detection of Identical Network Adapters Finds Only One |
| 159217 | RESKIT: RshSvc Leaks Process Handles |
| 159580 | WordPad Does Not Show Printer Fonts |
| 160783 | Error Message: Users Cannot Log On to a Workstation |
| 160792 | "Snap to Default" Mouse Feature Not Working |
| 160861 | Printers May Produce Garbled Output After a Print Job Is Deleted |
| 161710 | MPS Install Removes Default Windows NT Administrative Shares |
| 161801 | Chkdsk Reports an Erroneous Event ID 41 |
| 162186 | SCSISCAN Does Not Detect Multiple Scanners |
| 162705 | Incorrect Colors Printed on HP Laserjet Color 5 |
| 162768 | Cannot Access Data Disk in CD Drive When CD Player is Running |
| 162779 | Control Panel Fails to Stop an Already Stopped Service |
| 162790 | Auto Arrange Activates Itself in Copied User Profiles |
| 164115 | Play Button Unavailable When CD is Reinserted in CD-ROM Drive |
| 164262 | Windows Explorer Refresh Changes Current Selection |
| 164487 | Briefcase May Take a Long Time to Update |
| 164629 | Error Message: Default Printer Cannot Be Set |
| 165124 | Australian Time Zones End Daylight Saving Time on Wrong Date |
| 165126 | Cannot Delete File Using Windows NT Explorer |
| 165763 | Windows NT Does Not Recognize a Space in a Registry Value |
| 165774 | Windows NT Does Not Detect Serial IntelliPoint Mouse |
| 166000 | Landscape Orientation Not Available for Generic/Text Only Driver |
| 166159 | Delay in NETBIOS Connections From a Multihomed Computer |
| 166320 | Cannot Remove File Association in File Types Dialog Box |
| 166526 | NT Explorer Clears Archive Attribute after Perms Change |
| 166791 | Windows Explorer Error: Unable to Copy Disk on This Drive |
| 167001 | Winmsd.exe May Show Invalid Drive Statistics in Reports |
| 167046 | Add Printer Wizard May Hang After Adding a Port |
| 167208 | Sound Schemes Do Not Migrate to Other Users |
| 168461 | Customising Your Network Neighborhood Help Topic Does Not Exist |
| 169147 | Briefcase Error "DLLCanUnloadNow" |
| 169226 | Path of Nested Desktop Folder Not Displayed Correctly |
| 169234 | Cannot Set Separator in Regional Settings Tool to Null |
| 169561 | Unable to View Subdirectory if Parent Directory has NO ACCESS |
| 169620 | Err Msg: Accessing CD-ROM Drive: D:\ Is Not Accessible |
| 170657 | Paste From Command Missing in Embedded Paint Object |
| 170669 | Creating C:\Program Folder Causes Add/Remove Program to Fail |
| 171643 | Winlogon Hangs at Log On Screen |
| 171651 | Running a Batch or Command File From Windows NT Explorer Fails |
| 171857 | Long File Name Lost After Using Send To Command With WordPad |
| 172311 | Mouse Problems After Switching to Left-Handed Mouse Setup |
| 172452 | Windows NT Stops Responding or Delays During Shutdown Process |
| 172509 | Explorer Erroneously Generates Event 560 - Write Failures |
| 172773 | Problems Using LS120 Floppy Disk Drive With Windows NT Setup |
| 172774 | Copy Command at Command Prompt Does Not Prompt to Overwrite File |
| 173062 | Permissions Not Copied in Scopy.exe |
| 174504 | Detection of IntelliPoint Mouse on Serial Adapter Fails |
| 174532 | 16-bit Application Cannot Select a Network Drive |
| 175234 | Setup USAGE Popup While Installing OEM Device Driver |
| 175477 | Batch Files Run From Within Other Folders May Fail |
| 176210 | Incorrect Time Is Displayed When You Run the Net Time Command |
| 176966 | System Policy Editor May Not Disable Slow Link Detection |
| 177444 | Windows NT Explorer May Not Indicate Status of Shared Folders |
| 178283 | Cannot Browse CD That Has Both Audio and Video |
| 179147 | Access Denied Error Starting Program When Directory Named Program Exists |
| 179617 | Explorer Hangs with Multiple File Operations in a Single Folder |
| 179813 | Underlining Shifted to the Left When Printing From Applications |
| 180498 | Icons Disappear from Taskbar After Ending Explorer.exe |
| 180709 | Code in Main Thread Still Executes After Issuing CTRL+C Command |
| 181334 | Dragging Scrap to WordPad Title Bar Displays Random Characters |
| 183097 | Event Log May Not Grow to Configured Size |
| 184465 | "Take Ownership" Assigns Ownership to the Wrong User |
| 186146 | Double-Clicking .reg File Will Not Add Extended ANSI Values |
| 192822 | START Priority Class Arguments Ignored for WOW Applications |
| 195052 | \Program Breaks Applications Installed Under "C:\Program Files" |
| 196448 | Print Screen Fails When Pasting Into Paint |
| 198524 | Large Ntbootdd.sys File May Cause Problems |
| 214770 | Information is Not Updated When Consecutively Viewing Two Similar CD-ROMs |
| 216789 | BUG: NTBackup Cannot Back Up Individual Files From a Batch File or by Using a Command Prompt |
| 220963 | Object Is Not Displayed in the Multimedia Tool in Control Panel |
| 232227 | SMS: Inaccurate Installation Date Is Reported in the Inventory |
| 238821 | Player Stops Responding When Context Menu Open While Playing Files With Script Commands |
| 240718 | Previous Operating System Disabled by Setup and is Not Listed on Boot Menu Afterwards |
| 242114 | Custom Toolbar Settings Are Not Saved in File Manager |
| 243501 | Task Manager Does Not Display the Peak Memory Usage Column |
| 245206 | Error Occurs When Trying to Delete a Partition From a Broken Mirror |
| 246026 | Cannot Delete or Repair Corrupted File on NTFS Volume |
| 247408 | Error Message or Spooler Hangs When You Pause or Resume Print Job |
| 248249 | Copying Files to LS-120 Floppy Disk Causes Error Message |
| 248294 | Invalid Font File Can Cause Error Message on Blue Screen |
| 249874 | "NBTSTAT -A" Command Does Not Resolve Computer Name With DNS |
| 250982 | User Cannot Be Given the Right to Load or Unload Device Drivers |
| 254914 | Virtual Device Driver Message in 16-Bit MS-DOS Subsystem |
| 260525 | "License Violation" Error Message is Displayed When You Enable Registry Auditing |
| 263324 | The Create Shortcut Command Truncates the Source Path Folder Names to Eight Characters |
| 274698 | URL Within .asx File is Limited to 260 Characters |
| 283378 | You Must Hold Down the Power Button to Shut Down Windows NT 4.0 in a Dual-Boot Environment With Windows XP |
| 297268 | Data Fragmentation Occurs When You Use Ntbackup.exe to Restore Data to a Clean Volume |
| 299671 | Convert.exe Tool Causes Desktop Shortcuts to Prompt for the Administrator Password |
| 324553 | CAPS LOCK Key State in MS-DOS Programs May Be Incorrect |
| 329095 | Computer May Hang if the Maximum Log File Size is Set Incorrectly |
| 817435 | Memory Leak in FSrt Occurs When a Program Makes a Call to the CreateFile Function |
| 822061 | Getsockopt() Function Returns a Different Maximum UDP Message Size Than You Expect in Windows 2000 SP3 (Affects NT 4.0 SP6a as well - see note below) |
Note on Knowledgebase Article 822061 from Bear Windows:
If you attempt to send a UDP Datagram of with a length greater than 65507 bytes, the socket will freeze and you will no longer be able to send or receive UDP messages.